An integral part of modern data processing systems is data storage by means of data storage devices and storage media. Such devices and media particularly include devices with high-capacity random read-write capabilities such as hard disk drives and their disks. Hard disks can fail at any time, and indeed all will fail eventually as their components wear out. Power surges and other environmental factors can destroy storage devices. Moreover, users can destroy data: they can accidentally delete important files or knock servers over, destroying the hardware within. Sometimes, the data is recoverable. Often, some, most, or all of the damage is irreparable.
Preventative measures such as better power regulation or improved hardware product quality can reduce the risk of catastrophic failures. But such measures cannot eliminate the risk of data loss.
It is a well known technique to further lessen the risk of loss of data by adopting a redundancy policy, periodically backing up data stored on a primary data storage device to another storage device for safe-keeping. If the data is regularly copied to another storage device, a recent copy can be restored in the event that the data is lost from the primary storage device.
Modern systems, especially those that contain the data of many users, almost always have backup systems. But these systems can often be tedious: they can be slow and complex, requiring significant user intervention. The backed up data is sometimes less than complete. Often, as a result, users fail to diligently backup the data storage devices.
Determining which files to restore from a collection of backup data can be particularly difficult as well. The backup files of a single user may be spread over many backup media necessitating the location and loading of each media and the restoration of the desired files.
To further support data recovery in the event that the data processing system from which the data is backed up or the facility housing the data processing system becomes unusable, backed up data stored to removable or otherwise transportable media is often stored off-site, preferably in a secure remote facility. Transporting and storing the media off-site and logging the media to support later identification adds significant time and effort to a backup procedure. While such measures add robustness to backup operations, there is a cost disincentive to performing a proper and complete procedure.
What is therefore desired is a solution that addresses some or all of the above noted deficiencies.